IN GOD WE TRUST
Proverbs 3:5-6New International Version (NIV)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.[a]
Proverbs 3:9-10New International Version (NIV)
9 Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;
10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
Forward Thinkers, those who embrace their journey and put all their trust in God will walk in the 7 prophetic promises found in Proverbs 3 in the year of 2017.
Forward Thinkers, the Lord will bring you Peace (1) and Prosperity (2)
Forward Thinkers, you will win Favor (3) and a Good Name (4 & 5) with God and man
Forward Thinkers, the Lord will bring Health (6) to your body
Forward Thinkers, your barns will be Filled-Overflow (7)
Forward Thinkers, those who trust God will win/ You will prosper/ You will dominate/ You and your children and your children’s children will be great
Forward Thinkers, but if you lean on your own understanding or turn to any other source or force, you will suffer and be defeated.
Forward Thinkers, the Lord will bless those who trust Him over the next 4 years.
Let’s go back to the book of Genesis and continue to embrace our journey through the journey of Abram.
Genesis 14:11-13New International Version (NIV)
11 The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. 12 They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.
13 A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew.
Genesis 14:15-16New International Version (NIV)
15 During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.
Genesis 14:11-12
Forward Thinkers, remember last week Lot made a decision to leave the covering and protection of Abram and go into the sinful land of Sodom and Gomorrah. I wonder how many of us have made the same dumb decision Lot made and left a blessed place seeking a better place only to end up in a horrible place.
Forward Thinkers, if you’ve been walking this journey with me, you will recall in Genesis chapter 12, Lot under Abram’s protection went into a land of famine and came out rich but now we see without Abram in his life, Lot and his whole family are taken captive. Forward Thinkers, we must stay in position this season because the enemy is looking to divide us and conquer us in 2017.
Let’s fast forward and take a look in the 4 gospels of the New Testament to the story of the Prodigal Son. A young boy living in a blessed home decides to leave his father’s house and go seek a Thug Life in a foreign land. The bible says the boy goes broke and ends up in a hog’s pen before he came to his senses. Forward Thinkers, remember our decisions will always determine our destiny.
I pray, today, a generation of young and old will come to their senses and trust God and return back to Him in 2017.
Genesis 14:13-16
Forward Thinkers, word gets back to Abram that Lot is in trouble and Abram goes to battle and defeats the enemy and recovers everything the enemy had stolen. Forward Thinkers, when God is leading, the people are winning. Trust God in 2017 with your whole heart, mind, and soul.
Genesis 14:17
Forward Thinkers, it’s amazing how accurate the stories of the bible which were recorded thousands of years ago are still so relevant on today. The stories of the bible are better than any television soap opera and more accurate than any CNN report.
After Abram defeats the enemy and once again proves he has the favor of the Lord on his side, the wicked king of Sodom comes to meet Abram hoping to buy him off. Like Donald Trump, the king of Sodom understands the power of money persuasion. Forward Thinkers, be careful of who you attract while you are winning because the enemy is clever.
Forward Thinkers, unfortunately, wicked kings have been able to buy off Godly men and persuade them to sell out the people God assigned to them for years.
Forward Thinkers, Genesis 14:21 brings tears to my eyes every time I read it. The wicked king offers Abram a deal; give me the people and you can keep the stuff. Forward Thinkers, before Donald Trump moved into the White House, the Black community has been victims of Genesis 14:21. For years there have been Black leaders who have sold out the Black community for their own selfish benefit. Leaders have sold out the people in the hood and taken the stuff from the hood so they could move out the hood leaving the people in the hood at the wicked hands of the evil king.
Genesis 14:18-20
Melchizedek the king of Salem, a Godly king shows up and enters into holy covenant with Abram. Forward Thinkers, he brings bread and wine which is symbolic of Jesus Christ and the Lord’s Supper. Forward Thinkers, thank God He never leaves us alone at the mercy of evil people.
Forward Thinkers, Abram puts his trust in God and rejects the evil king and his stuff, giving us an example of how to lead with integrity in the midst of evil.
Forward Thinkers, here are 5 things we can learn from Abram’s encounter.
1) Abram put his trust in God
2) Abram enters into covenant with God
3) Abram blessed by God
4) Abram’s enemies defeated by God
5) Abram honors God with his tithes
Genesis 14:22
Forward Thinkers, Abram tells the evil king of Sodom who was in a position to pour money and material possessions into his life; I trust God and I will not accept one dime from you and you’ll never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich’.
Forward Thinkers, in 2017, those who are bold enough in faith to totally trust God will walk in the blessings of Abram that were decreed by Melchizedek but those who are not trusting God will suffer greatly during the Trump Administration.
Forward Thinkers, it’s decision time. Will you trust God or will you continue to trust man?
Pastor E. A. Deckard is the Senior Pastor/Founder of the Green House International Church located, in both Houston, Texas, and the Woodlands, Texas. Pastor Deckard is also the Co-Founder of the No More Bloodshed Movement. To contact Pastor Deckard for speaking engagements contact him at pr.ghic@gmail.com, follow him on Facebook, Instagram and Periscope @ Pastor E A Deckard or the church website www.ghic.net